Songs of The Muppet Christmas Carol, Ranked

Graham Celebrates "The Summer of the Soul in December"

The Muppet Christmas Carol has evolved from a nostalgia trip to a bonafide millennial Christmas classic. After being received somewhat coolly on release and underwhelming during its initial box office run, the 1990 film found a second life on VHS (where I first watched it as a child) and a third life on streaming. It’s now widely acknowledged as, at the minimum, a worthy entry in the Christmas Carol canon, and fodder for excellent social media content. At most, however, it’s the best Christmas Carol adaptation because, by making Charles Dickens (played by Gonzo the Great) a main character, it directly incorporates Dickens’s beautiful prose into its dialogue.

I fall into the latter interpretation. I think the film is absolutely brilliant with not a single misstep over the course of its 90-minute runtime. It’s my number one priority to rewatch every Christmas because there are so many little touches to appreciate. The film, the first made by the Muppets producers after Jim Henson’s death, feels like a real labor of love. It absolutely deserves the reappraisal it has received.

Even if you don’t have time to sit down and watch the whole thing this holiday season, you can just as effectively enjoy the film’s soundtrack, which is more extensive than the songs found in the movie. But if you have even less time and can’t listen to the full soundtrack, then just stick to the songs in the movie. Here is a handy ranking to guide your Christmas listening:

Not ranked: The Christmas Scat and the Finale (When Love Is Found)

These two aren’t ranked through any fault of their own. They’re just too much of reprises of previous songs to qualify for this list.

7. When Love Is Gone  

Famously cut from the initial theatrical release for being too sad for kids, When Love Is Gone plays an important role in Scrooge’s character arc. But it grinds the whole film to a halt and the lyrics are a little nonsensical. The story behind this song is more interesting than the song itself. Brownie points for Michael Caine’s singing, though.

6.) Bless Us All

Arguably the most forgettable song in the whole film, Bless Us All isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just … a little boring. There’s no dynamism and the entire focus of the song being on the goodness of Tiny Tim (who did NOT die!) gets old pretty quickly. Plus, it takes the focus off the scene-stealing Mrs. Piggy as Mrs. Kratchit. It does serve an important purpose for Scrooge as it makes him see the Cratchits’ capacity for gratitude. It isn’t a high point.

5.) Marley and Marley

“Marley and Marley” is a perfect mid-tier song. It’s visually striking, has a very amusing conceit (the joke of naming Jacob Marley’s partner Robert Marley only dawned on me after several rewatches), and is even a little scary for the kids in the audience! It’s also the best example of the script directly incorporating dialogue from the book. “Marley and Marley” a perfect introduction to how the film will later balance humor and darkness, and effectively sets the stakes for the story.

4.) Thankful Heart

The finale song lands right in the middle of this ranking because it’s impossible to dislike. You’ll be beaming the whole time. Its middling finish is more of a reflection of how good the next three songs are. Caine’s energy is infectious, and the energy and spirit of the song is a wonderful and much needed resolution to the darkness of the Ghost of Christmas Future. It’s also a very effective way of tying characters together from all three eras of Scrooge’s life. And the confrontation with Miss Piggy (excuse me, Mrs. Cratchit) that follows this song is one of the funniest moments in the film.

3.) Scrooge

Scrooge is catchy, extremely funny (the old ladies “nah” gets me every time), dynamic, and a perfect introduction to Michael Caine’s Scrooge. This one works both in the story as it effectively demonstrates Scrooge’s reputation as a stingy, selfish miser, and it also works in a meta-context, as it positions Caine as a real part of this world inhabited by muppets. Withholding his visage from the audience until the last moment is also stroke of genius. The scene’s momentum, the clever lyrics (“But there's nothing in nature that freezes your heart like years of being alone / It paints you with indifference like a lady paints with rouge / And the worst of the worst, the most hated and cursed is the one that we call Scrooge” is Oscar-worthy), the whole thing just sings.

2.) One More Sleep ‘Til Christmas

You can make compelling cases for this one to be number one, especially because you can (and should) listen to it on Christmas Eve! While “One More Sleep” is not number one on this list, I think it’s the best pure Christmas song in the film. It’s not the show-stopper that claims the number one spot, but it’s a beautiful ode to the significance of Christmas to a character defined by his gratitude. There’s such passion and creativity in every single shot of the rats cleaning up the office while Kermit sings — a truly beautiful moment of family. “It's the season when the saints can employ us / To spread the news about peace and to keep love alive” is a fantastic line.

1.) It Feels Like Christmas

The showstopper. The central set-piece. The thesis statement of the film. After the one-two gut-punches of “Marley and Marley” and “When Love Is Gone,” “It Feels Like Christmas” gives us the biggest production in the film. In comes the Ghost of Christmas Present to get Scrooge to start to see the joy in celebrating Christmas, and its expansive character list contrasts brilliantly with “Scrooge.” It’s dynamic, it’s action-packed, and it feels like the most cinematic set-piece in the film, concluding with a fantastic crane shot that shows the charming extent (and limits) of the film’s set. Caine’s endearingly awkward physicality reinforces Scrooge’s transformation from a sore thumb to an integral part of the fabric of the film’s world. It is the summer of the soul in December indeed.

UPDATE 12/25: Due to an editorial oversight, “Thankful Heart” was omitted from a previous version of the article. We regret this grave error. This article has been updated.

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Reader, what’s your favorite song from ‘Muppets Christmas Carol’? Let us know in the comments below!